We got up early this morning to hit the road to the Grand Canyon. I am amazed at how many people are here considering all the other National and State parks we have been to were quiet. We hear more languages then we can even identify. We decide to take one of the shuttles out to the West points along the path and take a ton of pictures. The day is a little hazy but it keeps it from getting too hot. Overall it was a beautiful day to be out. Bill and I both get a little sunburned. I think Bill began to really grasp his fear of heights today (Bill's comment - I knew I had a fear of heights - but it does take a good few thousand foot cliff to really make one truly appreciate it). hehehe
The Grand Canyon is amazing. Bill and I both agree that our amazement with it is somewhat diminished due to the other fantastical things we have seen in the past week (Arches, petrified trees, painted deserts) but is still a must see. The vastness surprises me. I have seen pictures of the Grand Canyon and even saw an IMAX show about it but I never could (and still really don't) grasp how amazingly huge it is.
Bill and I visit one of the gift shops when we enter the park. As soon as I walk in the door I see a book that I must have. "Over The Edge: Death In Grand Canyon". The day Bill and I walked through Arches I stopped at one point after reading an informational sign that didn't tell me much of anything I wants to know and said "Where are the signs that tell how many people get bit by Rattlesnakes each year?" Bill laughed at me. (Bill's Comment - actually before we even got into the gift shop there was a FAQ sign that answered the question of how many people fell off the rim of the canyon - that is where I laughed at her.) So when I saw this book I knew it was written for me. I grab a few magnets to add to my collection and off we go discovering. On our shuttle back from one of our hikes, the bus is full of people so much that I can not see anything interesting… I knew it would be about 25 minutes to our parking area (or so the driver said) and so I pick up the book. It is fascinating. Stories about people that made it and other stories about people that did not. It is very respectful of the people and is supposed to be a guide to help people that are visiting the parks be more self aware. I am learning not to walk on the guard walls and not to take that one more step back for a picture… not to mention the people that die being just plain dumb. This father who was a known prankster wanted to scare his young daughter… so he stood on a wall where there was a small ledge behind it and then flailing his arms "Fell" backwards… his daughter not thinking it was funny walked back to the car to meet with the rest of the group. Hours later they found him at the bottom… *rolls eyes* Poor girl is fatherless and all because Dad wanted to joke around on a ledge with a 400 foot drop behind it… anyway I will be continuing to read the book along our path to make sure Bill and I learn more self awareness… heh.
We again come to a point in the day where we have scheduled to leave but decided to stay for a little while longer. We hike out on a few of the small paths to the photograph points and take more pictures. Then have lunch at one of the little places inside the park. We head out just before 6 pm (instead of the 3-4 pm we had planned.) As we look at the road ahead we are still ahead of schedule and decide that we will stay in Williams, AZ tonight and catch the strip of Route 66 between Williams and Kingman in the daylight.
2 comments:
When you were at the Canyon did you see the new "walk in the air over the canyon" thing the Indians built? Sounds like the kind of thing you'd love (but Bill would hate).
We saw the walk on the website but it was not open so we did not hunt it down. I am fairly certain that I would have done it but I know for certain Bill wouldn't have.
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